FOX4 hoped to talk to Blake Segers or Nick Williamson, the owners of B&N Enterprises.

Eric Bales and his wife hired B&N Enterprises to do work on their Northland home last year.

“We wanted to add a pergola, add some steps off of our deck, just create a better entertainment space,” Bales said.

The couple solicited bids from several companies using the website Thumbtack, which allows a homeowner to explain the services needed and contractors to bid on it.

Bales said he was most impressed with B&N Enterprises after Williamson and Segers made a visit to his home.

“They use a CAD system on their laptop, so they actually drew it out so you can see it, which is really nice and set them apart from the competition,” said Bales,
who then gave the company a check for 40 percent down (the required deposit) -- about $3,650.

That was a year ago, and that’s the last time Bales ever saw anyone from B&N Enterprises.

Bales isn't the only one though. Michael Wade is out more than $12,000.

Wade, who lives with his wife in Johnson County, Kansas, said Williamson and Segers started work on his home last year. Wade had hired the company to build a deck and a fence.

But after tearing out his old deck, the workers disappeared.

“I was pretty upset,” said Wade, who sued the company and was awarded about $12,000 as a default judgment after nobody from B&N Enterprises showed up in court.

That was months ago, and the judgment has never been paid.

Court records show Williamson has served time for robbery, and Segers has convictions for assault and theft.

Problem Solvers realizes that people with a criminal past can turn their lives around. But taking thousands of dollars from two homeowner and never doing the work isn't a great way of showing you’re a changed man.

One would imagine that Segers, in particular, cares deeply about his reputation. His Facebook page states he’s planning on running for city council in Kansas City.

Among the pledges listed on his campaign literature is that he wants to make our “community better.” FOX4 had hoped to talk to Segers in person, but his KC home is plastered with no trespassing signs.

FOX4 later called B&N Enterprises’ phone number and spoke to a man who identified himself as Williamson. He said the company was forced to abandon
the two customers after his business partner, Segers, injured himself by falling into a hole at a home improvement store.

He said that injury and an accident that damaged the company truck had left them with no money for refunds. However, he promised to reimburse both men
once a personal injury lawsuit is settled with the home improvement store over Segers’ injuries.

However, Problem Solvers could not find proof of that lawsuit after checking court records in both Kansas and Missouri.

There is some potentially good news: After FOX4 started our investigation, both customers finally heard from B&N Enterprises. They said that Segers promised them he would begin making payments this month to refund their money. We’ll check back to see if that happens.

Meanwhile, Thumbtack -- the website that first connected the two now unhappy homeowners to B&N Enterprises -- told us its permanently removed the company from its platform.